UK building $45 million dollar football training facility

UK Athletics to Construct New Football
Training Facility

Board of Trustees
Approves $45 Million Project, Scheduled for Completion in 2016

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The
University of Kentucky Board of Trustees has approved UK Athletics' $45-million
project to build a new football training facility adjacent to Commonwealth
Stadium and the Nutter Field House.

The University Athletics
Committee approved the initial proposal at a 9 a.m. meeting Friday, sending the
proposal to the Finance Committee, which also approved. The UK Board of Trustees
put its final stamp of approval on the project at a 1 p.m. meeting. The
proposal will now be submitted to the Council on Postsecondary Education and
the Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee for authorization at their
February 2014 meetings.

The project, which will be
constructed with private funds, will build a new training facility along with
two practice fields and a drill area behind the east endzone of Commonwealth
Stadium. The new two-story facility will include administrative offices, locker
spaces, team meeting areas, training areas, high performance and weight room
space, equipment rooms, a hydrotherapy room, player locker rooms, lounge
facilities, an academic lounge/study area, media room and an entrance lobby
with enhanced visitor amenities. Construction will begin when plans are
finalized with a goal of completion prior to the 2016 season.

"As we continue to make a
commitment to improving all of our facilities, this is a significant step for
our football program," said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics. "I'm very
appreciative of the donors who are stepping up to help with this project. We
look forward to completing the funding and design process."

"We are so excited to get
this project started and I am thankful to all of those involved," Coach Mark
Stoops said. "Once again, this is an indication of the great commitment
from our administration and our supporters who are making this happen. This
facility is already helping us in recruiting and will play a key role in the future
of Kentucky football."

The project joins a
$110-million reinvention of Commonwealth Stadium announced in November 2013,
helping transform the home of UK football into a state-of-the-art facility in
time for the start of the 2015 season. The reinvention of CWS, which is
currently under construction now, will feature enhanced premium seating,
including private suites and club seating, new football home-team facilities
with a multi-purpose recruiting room, and a redesign of CWS inside and out to
give the home of the Wildcats a modern look that remains uniquely Kentucky. For
more, visit TheNewCWS.com.

The Nutter Training Facility,
which is football's current practice home, will be used to serve other UK
student-athletes when the new building is completed. The Kentucky football team
is currently in winter conditioning as it prepares for spring practice.